Damien and Renee Tougas have always made sure that their children were able to experience the outdoors. So it seemed a fairly natural fit to take the entire family on the Appalachian Trail in 2014. To help fund their adventure they produced a high-quality video series that followed their journey. 

 

 

For each member of the family, it was harder than they had expected. Despite their hardships–compounded when Renee had to leave the trail for much of the last 500 miles–they eventually forced their way to Katahdin, summiting triumphantly together once more as a family.

 

 

The children recognized their individual roles in the adventure, each having chores to attend to at the end of the day. Once Renee had left the team, she offered each child the option to quit but, to their credit, they battled on.

 

 

You can connect with the family in several of ways.

Renee’s blog: http://renee.tougas.net/

Outsideways: https://outsideways.com/

Just click on the names to access their Outsideways profiles: Damien and Renee

Renee’s Outsideways journal of their thru-hike (not yet complete):

https://outsideways.com/journals/beyond-our-boundaries/

Their excellent video series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDCqNxx6mOD_i08ETXNekSLwxIsrmc8T7

 

Dr Lynne shares a personal diabetes story and gives us signs to watch out for.

 

There is even an update from Jessa.